WUNRN
Girls with mothers and/or fathers in
prison or the criminal justice system, are often invisible, hurting from their
fragmented lives through this experience. WUNRN posts this study report to
inform and promote activism and actions to reduce for girls with incarcerated
mothers and fathers, the stigma, risk for intergenerational crime, loss
and attachment issues, disrupted caregiving, social isolation, needs for
special support, and other realities.
THE COPING PROJECT - CHILDREN OF
PRISONERS - GIRLS
The
COPING (Children of Prisoners: Interventions and Mitigations to Strengthen
Mental Health)Project was funded by the EU Seventh Framework Programme
Direct Link to Full 33-Page 2012
Report:
Report Note: Areas for further
research include studying the gender difference in impact of an imprisoned
parent on boys and girls.
November 6, 2012 - "For me, COPING has meant getting through a
tough time in life...from the moment my father was sentenced, as I have
continually adapted to changes in my life."
This European Union (EU) conference outcome report from the end-of-project conference on The COPING (Children of Prisoners: Interventions and Mitigations to Strengthen Mental Health) Project identifies broadly comparative data about children’s needs, resilience and self-esteem across four countries: Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom (UK), and Romania.
The project surveyed 0.4% of the estimated total population of children of prisoners in the four COPING countries, a total of 737 children, 479 families, and 1,347 individual surveys. COPING researchers also conducted face-to face interviews, a total of 349 divided between the children, their parent/carers, and their imprisoned parent. Theoretical concepts presented as background of information include:
As stated in the findings section, children are affected negatively by stigma and family violence, but caregivers' and extended families' support was found to be crucial for children's resilience in all four countries. There was strong evidence about support from schools for children in the UK, Sweden, and Germany. Possible school support may come from help with academic performance and homework. They are also able to provide emotional support and look for signposts of counselling needs.
A child-friendly environment within the prison can enhance early, continuous, and open contact with the imprisoned parent. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) can play a key role in supporting children of prisoners.
"The top three needs for children of prisoners identified in all four
COPING country studies from a questionnaire including questions on health,
school, holidays and other aspects of children’s daily lives were:
1. Help visiting a parent in prison
2. Being with family after school (interpreted as a need for strengthening
family relationships)
3. Help with homework"
Areas for further research include studying the gender difference in impact of an imprisoned parent on boys and girls. "Evidence from the UK is that children miss their father in prison equally as much as their mother; and also that girls are more able to talk about their feelings, and that boys are more likely to display disruptive behaviour at home and at school."
Policy and practice improvements across the EU include:
Recommendation 1: Imprisoned parents should be offered opportunities to contribute to their children's daily lives, including involvement in schooling, when feasible. Caregiving parents, grandparents, and siblings should be recognised by States and provided services by their agencies, and those services should be advertised to families. Solutions from young people include: make guidelines and advice available to parents on how to tell children about parental imprisonment; if a parent is unwilling to tell a child, a trusted adult or social service agency who knows the child's needs should tell them; and children need to ask questions without fear of parent reaction.
Recommendation 2: A review of arrest and search policies in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) should take into consideration children and families of the accused, including police training for situations when children are present. COPING recommends media sensitivity to reporting the incarceration of parents and school sensitivity to stigmatisation of children.
Recommendation 3: Training materials for teachers and counsellors need to be produced and used to raise awareness of emotional and education support of children of the imprisoned. Young people suggest that schools take more responsibility for these children, have theme days to address rumours and to normalise the situation of children with imprisoned parents, and teach about the legal system as an academic subject.
Recommendation 4: Agencies should offer support for families and family relationships when a parent is imprisoned and advertise their services. Young people suggest provision of counsellors for families, support groups, formation of closed groups for safe disclosure, trust building among those who work with children, and help with parent understanding of child issues.
Recommendation 5: Visitation should be well supported by trained prison staff. Adults should be available to visit prisons with children. Visitors’ centres are needed within prisons. Affordable phone calls among family members and prisoners are needed. There should be respectful and child-friendly behaviour from staff. Family days and flexible visitation hours are suggested. There is a need for financial support to help with visits. And, lastly, contact with a parent in prison should stem from the desire of the child.
Drawings of young people were presented at the conference, as well as a DVD of a child's spoken poem, "The teacher that didn’t understand."
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http://gender.stanford.edu/news/2012/women-prisoners-gender-matters
USA - WOMEN IN PRISON: GENDER MATTERS - PANEL
Excerpt: The
panelists shared staggering statistics about the state of imprisoned women. In
recent years, the number of incarcerated women in the United States has grown
to more than 200,000. That’s eight times greater than the level in the 1980s
and twice the rate of increase for men’s prison populations. According to Levi,
the increase in incarcerated women stems from more prosecutions for drug-related
and low-level crimes, the dismantling of the nation’s mental health care
system, the absence of drug rehabilitation and a trend toward imposing long
sentences.
While the numbers are increasing, women only account for roughly seven percent of all people in prisons nationwide. The low percentage of imprisoned women results in a double-edged sword, according to Petersilia. Women make up such a small percentage of those incarcerated so consequently they don’t get adequate attention through government programs, policy, legislative action and advocacy.
Website Link Includes Video.
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Australian Bureau of Statistics - http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4517.0Media%20Release12012?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4517.0&issue=2012&num=&view=
Australia - Women Prisoners Increasing at a Faster Rate than
Men
6 December 2012 - The number of female prisoners in Australia is growing at a
faster rate than males, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
figures released today.
The number of women behind bars has increased 8.4 per cent over the last 12
months and 48 per cent since 2002. This compares to the number of male
prisoners which increased 0.4 per cent over the last 12 months and 29 per cent
since 2002.
ABS Director of the National Centre for Crime and Justice Statistics, Fiona
Dowsley, said today’s ‘Prisoners in Australia’ publication revealed that 2,201
females were in Australian adult corrective services custody on 30 June
2012......
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